


The Lake That Caught On Fire

by mescalinen



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medical, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Doctor/Patient, Drugs, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Graphic Description, Graphic Description of Corpses, Gun Violence, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Major Illness, Medical, Medical Conditions, Medical Experimentation, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Medical Torture, Mild Sexual Content, Non-Consensual, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Violence, Psychotropic Drugs, References to Drugs, References to Illness, Rehabilitation, Sexual Content, Sexual Violence, Threats of Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-08-27 18:31:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16707799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mescalinen/pseuds/mescalinen
Summary: Tom expects his rehabilitation process to be nothing but normal.That changes when he comes across an old friend who completely turns over his experience there.





	1. Chapter 1

_‘It’s August 24th, I’m on my way to this weird hospital._

_I- they say it has the best doctors. This is my first time in Norway, or any Scandinavian country, actually._

_I’m scared, I guess. I mean, what if its some creepy, old house where massacres occured? That’d be pretty shitty. I-, ugh, I don’t want to film myself, but Eddie says I have to...  
We’re getting closer, and I see it, in the distance. It looks like some huge castle or mansion, and it seems to have someday been white, hah.’_

    Tom rolls his eyes as he rewatches the video he just recorded. He wishes he wouldn’t have to do it, but Edd had threatened to send Tom right back to the hospital if he didn’t record it. Every day.

    The car stops to a halt, and Tom gets out. He takes his bag and, immediately, the car leaves. Tom is left standing in a colossal garden, in awe. It’s guarded by tall, stone fence walls that had overgrown with ivy. There are people dressed in white walking around, who Tom assumes are some of the patients.

  
    Tom turns back to the entrance. The hospital seems so old, but clearly restored at some point. There’s a metal sign with golden finish that says something in Norwegian.  
Tom shrugs and opens the massive wooden door, turning the knob. It creaks as it opens, and Tom quickly walks in.

  
    In the reception, the floors are decorated with old tiles and the walls are pale. The ceiling is a masterpiece - an ancient, detailed painting that has slowly been eroded by the years. Tom walks towards the front desk, and the woman at it looks up. There’s a small metal tag on her chest that says her name. Viola. She smiles at Tom and begins saying something in a foreign language.

    ‘Uh- English, please?’

    ‘My apologies, sir. Your full name?’

    ‘Thomas ***’

    At that, the receptionist stops typing on her computer and blinks a few times as she looks back at Tom.

    ‘Oh- follow me, sir,’ she walks out of the reception block. ‘You can leave your luggage here.’

    Tom follows Viola through identical white corridors that seem more complicated than ant burrows. They go up by a lift, and Tom doesn’t even remember which floor the receptionist had selected. 

    Finally Viola stops at a door with another metal sign, but Tom doesn’t bother trying to read it. She knocks, and a male voice sounds from the inner room. With that, she opens the door and holds it for Tom as he walks in. 

    Before Tom knows it, Viola’s gone.  
The office room is large and pale, and at the desk sits a man. He’s looking down, and Tom cannot see his features.

    ‘Sit down, sir.’

    Tom pulls out the chair opposite to the man. When the man looks up, Tom almost chokes on his own breath.

_Tord!_

    Tom’s heart beats at a fast rate, and he’s even more frightened than before. It was unmistakably him! The eye corners, the long nose and sharp features. Even the color of Tord’s hair had stayed the same, dark, dark brown.

    ‘Recognize me?’ Tord smiles that old, broken smile.

    ‘Yes. . .’ Tom’s voice is awfully small.

    ‘I was assuming you wouldn’t,» Tord lifts a corner of his mouth. ‘So how do you like my hospital?’  
  
    ‘Your...?’

    ‘Why, yes. After I left, I decided to finally make my dreams come true. I got my doctorate, and finally, my own facility.’

    ‘Wow... I- um, I’m happy- for you,’ Tom stumbles on his words, still not processing the fact that Tord had actually done something reasonable in his life.

    ‘I was expecting you, y’know,’ Tord says.

    ‘What do you mean?’

    ‘People like you - they always get sent here someday.’

Tom swallows hard. He can feel that the imbecile is trying to scare him, but he still feels unnerved. Only a bit.

    ‘Look, it’s cool if you still hate me and wanna scare me here, but the only thing I’m looking forward to here is leaving.’

    Tord smiles at that. It’s a genuine smile, not one like he used to put on, when he always beat Tom. He then laughs loudly.

    ‘Don’t worry, Tom. You’ll be fine,’ Tord assures him, which catches Tom off guard, ‘in fact, I’ll be personally taking care of you!’

    Tom figures he should be relieved that at least someone he knows would be in charge of his healing process, but something about the fact that Tord is doing so makes him feel wary of the possible outcomes.  
   

    He’s still afraid of Tord, no matter how many years he had denied it to others.

    ‘I’ll show you your ward,’ Tord says, getting up.

    He leads Tom through corridors and down the lift to the seventh floor. They stop at a door that has the sign _710_ on it.

    ‘This is your personal ward,’ Tord says as he opens the door.

   Tom blinks. This was a ward? It seemed like a hotel room! White and smelling of antiseptic, but there was such detail to it. The white bed and covers, the large windows and bathroom. All either furnished in or pure white. Tom also notices that his luggage was already there.

    ‘Thank you,’ Tom says to Tord, ‘this is really nice.’

    ‘We do the best for our patients.’

    Tom nods and then looks at Tord, who’s smiling very slightly, looking oddly unsure of something. Then Tord looks away.

    ‘If you need anything... know I’m always here and you can call for me anytime...’ Tord trails off, and he seems as if he has something else to add, but he doesn’t. He nods and leaves as Tom thanks him.

    Tom sighs and takes out the camera from his backpack. He faces it to himself and clicks the record button.

_‘So, I’m here, this is my ward. The hospital’s very... um... hospital-y.  
Also, turns out the head doctor is Tord. Imagine the odds of that happening. _

_  
He says that I can call him anytime, which makes me less worried, but... I hate hospitals and doctors, so that sucks.’_

    Tom clicks the record button again and puts his camera away, beginning to unpack.

  
    He is terrified, yet his interest is aroused at the same time to see what waiting for him tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little au i came up with, inspired by the movie ‘a cure for wellness’.  
> i censored the last names, so be creative lmao


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little warning for slightly graphic content that might not be suitable for some

    Tom is woken up by the beeping of an alarm he didn’t notice was there.  
He gets up, does the usual morning routine, and is on his way to explore the room a bit more when the door bursts open.

    ‘Good morning, Tom! Ready for your first procedure?’ Tord chirps as he walks in. He’s dressed in a doctor’s uniform which, for some reason, surprises Tom.

    ‘I was just about to go down to the dining hall, actually,’ Tom begins.

    ‘Oh, no, no, no. That’s why I came earlier. This procedure must be done on an empty stomach.’

    Tom shrugs.

    ‘Follow me.’

    Tom is placed on a medical stretcher and is wheeled by two nurses through corridors. They stop after a while and enter a big room, Tom realizes, by the echoes.

    The nurses move Tom over to a medical bed, and strap his wrists and ankles with iron straps. This alarms Tom, but he stays silent. Then the nurses leave, but Tom can hear Tord whistling a tune.

    ‘What are you gonna do?’ Tom asks him.

    ‘This medical procedure will cleanse your system and allow us to see clearer into any little problems you may have,’ Tord says, moving and shuffling something around.

    The medical bed Tom’s lying on makes a loud, metalic clanking noise and is moved into something bigger. Tom finds out what after the top half of the ‘thing’, that is a metal capsule, is clamped down on Top of him.  
Thankfully, it is still somewhat spacious inside. Well, to an optimist it would be.

    ‘Now, don’t move,’ Tord says, and begins putting a mask on Tom’s mouth.

    Tom turns his head away.

   ‘First explain properly what you’ll do,’ he says, teeth gritted.

    Tord smiles dangerously gently, ‘leave that to the proffessional.’

    He swiftly straps the mask to Tom’s mouth, who is moving around and shaking his head.  
He yells something, but it’s all muffled.

    ‘Relax,’ Tord says, attaching a tube to the mask.

    Tom breathes in a stench of... fish?  
And at that point he realizes, by his trusted intuition, that something’s not right. But that intuition is a bit late.

    Tom begins his protests and yells, but all are muffled by the mask and tube strapped to his mouth. He tries to move, but there are the iron straps around his wrists and ankles, and even if they weren’t there, it would be impossible to escape from the iron capsule’s body.

    Tom feels trapped and helpess, not that he wasn’t; a sense of claustrophobia Tom never knew he had. 

    Even through his desperate attempts, he understands there’s no way he can possibly escape, and that thought is haunting. But he hopes that, just maybe, at the sight of him in this state might spark at least a bit of humanity in Tord.  
It doesn’t.

    ‘Relax, Tom, nothing that goes against my will has ever succeeded,’ Tord says like he doesn’t sound out of his mind, smiling down at Tom.

    _He’s smiling._

    That damned man has the audacity to smile! Has he no heart? No consciousness? No... pity?

    ‘Do you know what this is?’ Tord gives the metal capsule Tom is in a few hits.

    Tom stops his frantic attempts and frowns, shaking his head. Maybe cooperation might be the solution? Doubtful, but worth a try.

    ‘You’re in a former iron lung,’ Tord explains, ‘one modified by yours truly. I replaced the mechanisms for a different purpose. For a purpose of cleansing, and, thus, healing.’

    Tom doesn’t even want to hear the rest. He fears that “different purpose”. Why couldn’t Tord had left that iron lung for the use of survivors of that disease Tom had forgotten the name of? Why did he have to always make things more complicated than they were?

    ‘On top of the metal body is a tank. A tank of live eels. Once I pull this lever,’ Tord shows, ‘those eels will be released, and transferred from this tube,’ Tord gestures, trailing his finger down the tube, ‘into your system.’

    Tom goes pale. He feels he could pass out right here, right now. Live eels? What was in Tord wrecked mind and how on Earth did that unholy being manage to get a doctorate and a license? Sure, Tom always knew Tord had some odd sides to him, but to this extent? 

    Tom’s heart beats significantly fast. He doesn’t know how to react except to say his final goodbyes to this world.

_This damned world._

    ‘Not to worry. You’ll be unconscious half the time,’ Tord assures, if you could call it that.

    Tom is thankful for at least that.

    ‘The second half, that is,’ Tord grins, ‘get ready. On three...’

    Tom immediately begins his frantic movements again.

    ‘Two...’

    He tries to free his wrists by force, but doesn’t succeed.

    ‘One.’

    Tord pulls the lever, and instantly Tom smells the reek of old algae and stale water, the water that begins to fill his mouth.

    Even when he tries to somehow spit it out, the water is pushed down to his throat. Tom can feel the eels, or maybe its just the harsh pressure of the water.  
    And that’s the last thing Tom registers before he is unconscious. Who wouldn’t be, from this stress and torture?


	3. Chapter 3

    Tom gasps as he jolts up. His temples pulse and ache at the sudden movement. He’s back in his ward, he realizes.  
    Tom tries to get up, but feels a sharp pain in his stomach. Memories begin to fill the empty tank in his brain, and he finally realizes the situation.  
    He still cannot process the happened things. It seemed too unreal, too much of a horror story.  
Tom lifts his robe to see his stomach. His heart thumps in fear.  
    As he opens it, Tom’s believes his eyes are fooling him. His stomach looks completely normal!  
At that moment, the door bursts open.

  
    ‘Tom! Awake at last.’

  
    Tom’s nose scrunches in disgust as Tord enters like nothing had happened.

  
    ‘How are you feeli-‘

  
    ‘What the fuck did you do to me?!’

    Tord pauses for a moment.

  
    ‘If you are refering to yesterday’s procedure-‘

  
    ‘Procedure?’ Tom scoffs, ‘that was anything but a procedure! I- I’ll call the police!’

  
    Tom glares at Tord, wanting to see his reaction to his threat, and Tord really does surpise him. The doctor looks hurt, his eyebrows furrowed and gaze fixed on a particularly interesting floor tile.

  
    ‘I don’t think you will, or can.’

  
    Tom remembers, with horror, that there is absolutely no service here. He gets up quickly and jumps off the bed, but his legs feel like liquid and he yelps, falling.  
    Tord is there to catch Tom, and he does.

  
    ‘So careless,’ Tord says quietly, helping Tom stand.

  
Tom is trying to figure out if Tord did something to his legs, too, because the muscles feel weak and are aching.

  
    ‘Please,’ Tom says, ‘send me home.’

  
    Tom looks up at Tord. His eyes are begging and desperately hopeful. Tord looks back at him with sympathy and helpessness.

  
    ‘I can’t. You cannot leave before the assigned date.’

    ‘Please,’ Tom begs.

  
    Tord stays silent and roughly pushes strands of Tom’s hair away from Tom’s face.

    The door opens and two nurses rush in with a stretcher. Tom’s eyes widen with fear as he helped to it by Tord. He doesn’t protest.

  
    ‘Good,’ Tord says, patting the edge of the stretcher.

  
    Tom is taken to a small, white room that smells of antiseptic. He sits up, and sees a male nurse preparing a syringe. Tom watches him fill it with a clear substance.  
    The nurse walks over to Tom and wipes Tom’s inner elbow with an alcohol wipe. He flicks the syringe and looks over to the side, at Tord, for signal.  
    Tord gives a curt nod and the nurse turns to Tom, placing down the syringe.

  
    ‘You’ll only feel a pinch,’ Tord says from the distance.

  
    Tom looks up at the nurse, who is staring back at him with wide, blue eyes. He attempts to read the eyes, but the nurse looks down and starts preparing Tom’s vein by rushing the blood away with a rubbing motion, testing the vein and cleaning the skin with an alcohol wipe. Slowly, the nurse inserts the syringe under Tom’s skin.  
    Instantly, Tom flinches. It does feel like a pinch, but a very painful pinch. He waits as the time drags slowly, until the nurse pulls the syringe away, puts a plaster on the injected spot, and presses Tom’s lower arm to his forearm so the blood doesn’t spill.

  
    ‘What was in that?’ Tom asks.

    The nurse blinks at him, and Tom realizes that he probably doesn’t understand him.  
    The nurse slowly looks down and begins to clear the things and discards the syringe without speaking.  
    Tom hears a huff from Tord.  
    There’s an order from Tord, and the nurses help Tom lie back down on the stretcher. Tom feels a sudden sharp sting in his arm, but he doesn’t have enough strength to look over at it.

    ‘Now, you sleep.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just wanted to clarify that i know how real hospitals/rehab centers are run, but this is a fictional hospital, so many actions or orders are purposefully incorrect


End file.
